Machine for treating fibrous plants.



W. M. STONE.

-' MACHINE FOR TREATING Fl-BROUS PLANT$ APPLIOATIQN FILED JUNE 8. 1909.

991,557 Patented m 9, 1911.

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Witnesses:

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W. M. STONE. 11111011111111 FOR TREATING FIBROUS PLANTS.

APPLIOATIVON FILED JUNEH. 1909.

Patented May 9, 1911.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILBUR 1V1. STONE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO OXFORD LINEN MILLS, ACORPORATION OF MAINE.

MACHINE FOR TREATING FIBROUS PLANTS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VILBUR M. STONE, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city, county, and State of New York, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Treating FibrousPlants, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to machines for treating fibrous plants, such asflax, hemp, and similar growths, for separating the fiber from the strawthereof.

The object of my improvements is to furnish a machine into which fiberbearing stalks or tow may be delivered and which without further handmanipulation and in one continuous operation will extract the straw andshive portions from the fiber and deliver said fiber in a substantiallycleaned condition.

With this object in view my improved machine comprises mechanismillustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein Figure l is a sideelevation with certain parts broken away to more clearly show itsconstruction and operation. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 isan enlarged detail side elevation showing more clearly brush 330 or 560.

My invention comprises broadly one or more cylinders each having groovesin the periphery parallel with the axis thereof and having a series ofsmaller cylinders or rolls correspondingly corrugated for coaction withthe main cylinder. Said rolls are mounted for oscillation about the axisof the cylinder and are actuated to roll back and forth on the peripheryof the cylinder dur ing the forward revolution of the cylinder.Preferably I arrange said cylinders with their coacting rolls in pairs,one such pair being shown in the present drawings. Also I preferablymount the series of rolls of one cylinder opposite to that of the othercylinder relative to the common plane of the axes of said cylinders.

Passing now to a more specific description, I provide the usual feedapron 2, one or more pairs of primary corrugated crushing rolls 3, 4, 5,6, 7, 8, preferably having their corrugations decreasing in size frompair to pair. The first cylinder 9 is fixed to shaft 10 which shaft ismounted for rotation in suitable boxes in side frames 11, 12. Adjacentto and at opposite ends of cylinder Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 8, 1909.

Patented May 9, 1911.

Serial No. 500,965.

9 are oscillating frames 13, 14 freely mounted on shaft 10. Said framesare .connected to each other by webs or plates 15, 16 so that saidframes will move in unison. Between oscillating frame 14 and side frame12 gear 17 is fixed to shaft 10. In suitable bearings formed inoscillating frames 13, 14 are mounted for revolution and for coactionwith the grooved periphery of cylinder 9 a plurality of grooved rolls18, 19, 20, 21, 22, Said rolls are each provided with a gear, as 24 toroll 18, for engagement With large gear 17 on cylinder shaft 10. Alsomounted for rotation in oscillating frames 13, 14 is brush or scraperroll 25 for coaction with cylinder 9. On the rearwardoutboard end ofshaft 250 of brush 25 is fixed pulley 26 and which is driven by belt 27from pulley 28 on shaft 10. A pair of corrugated transfer rolls 29, 30is provided to carry the material being treated, from cylinder 9 tocylinder 90. Brush 330 driven by any convenient means, not shown, may beprovided to assist the material into the bite of rolls 29, 30. Saidcylinder 90, in all respects similar to cylinder 9, is fixed on shaft 31mounted for revolution in suitable bearings in side frames 11, 12. Saidcylinder 90 has mounted thereover in oscillating frames 34, 35 aplurality of grooved rolls as 32, 33 for coaction therewith, similar inconstruction and mounting to grooved rollslS, 19 and so forth belowcylinder 9. Said cylinder 90 is also provided with a brush roll 36having pulley 37 on the outwardly extending shaft 38 thereof. Saidpulley is-driven by belt 39 from pulley 40 on cylinder shaft 31, allsimilar to brush roll 25 and the driving means therefor alreadydescribed in con nection with cylinder 9. For leading the material beingoperated upon away from cylinder 90 corrugated feed rolls 56, 57 areprovided. Also brush 560 driven by any convenient means, not-shown, maybe provided to assist the material into the bite of rolls 56, 57. Saidrolls in their turn deliver to apron 58.

One or more of the small rolls coacting with cylinders 9 and 90 may beprovided if desired with means for endwise movement. One form of suchmeans is illustrated in connection with roll 33 of cylinder 90. Saidmeans comprises a pair of complementary cams 41, 42 fixed to oscillatingframes 34, 35 respectively and concentric with shaft 43 of roll 33.Pivotally mounted within said roll for coaction with said cams are rollsli, 45 respectively.

Oscillating roll-carrying-frames 13, 14 and 34, 35 are actuated asfollows: Outwardly extending from oscillating frame 8% is sleeve 46 andto the outboard end thereof outside frame 11 is fixed arm i7. Said arm4LT has pivoted to its free end cam roll arm 48. Said arm has cam roll49 pivotally mounted thereon for engagement with cam 50 011 shaft 51mounted for rotation in side frames 11, 12. Arm 4-8 is bifurcated at itslower end for engagement with shaft 51. Oscillating frame 18 isconnected to os'cil lating frame 34: by means of link Said link ispivoted at 53 to frame 34: and at 5i to upwardly extending arm 55 offrame 13. Cam 50 has apath of such contour as to impart to oscillatingframes 34, 35 and 13,

14: relatively long oscillations each comprising several relativelyshort oscillations, whereby rolls such as 82, 33, 19, 20 and brushes 36,are caused to work back and forth in coaction with their respectivecylinders.

The operation of my improved machine is as follows: Stalks of flax orother fiber bearing plant being spread on feed apron 2 and with theirlengths in line with the direction of travel of said apron, said stalkspass into successive engagement with primary crushing rolls 3, f, 5, 6,7 and 8. The straw of said stalks is thereby broken up into coarse bitsor shives and more or less thereof falls down between said rolls. Thepartly deshived stalks then emerge from said primary crushing rolls andare fed against the corrugated face of cylinder 9 by which they are bentdownwardly into the bite of roll 18 and said cylinder. The stalks thencontinue to pass downwardly and then upwardly around said cylinder overthe succeeding rolls 19, 20, brush 25 and rolls 21, 22 and so forth.Said rolls 18, 19 and so forth by means of the instrumentalitiesdescribed are caused to roll back and forth on cylinder 9 therebyproviding a plurality of coactions of said rolls, brush and cylinderwith the material therebetween,

to the further breaking of said stalks and liberating the shive portionsthereof, which continue to fall out from the fibrous portion. Brush 25materially assists the removal of shive portions adhering to the fiberand loosens said fiber from the corrugations of cylinder 9 so that rolls22, 23 and so forth may act upon fresh portions thereof and thus breakup further shive portions of the stalk. The stalk portions, nowcomprising fiber with a small residue of shive are freed from cylinder 9and passed into the bite of rolls 29, 30 by means of brush 830 andthence against cylinder 90 by which they are led upwardly under rollssuch as 32, 33, under brush 36, and thence under the succeeding rollscoacting with said cylinder, all similar in character and mode ofoperation to those described. in coaction with cylinder 9. Also roll 33by its endwise movement furnishes a cross scrubbing action that rubs theshives from the fiber and rearranges said fiber for more effectivetreatment by the succeeding means. Then by means of brush 560 the nowsubstantially shine free fiber is directed into the bite of rolls 50, 57and onto receiving apron 58.

I claim:

In a machine for treating fibrous plants the combination of a pair ofrotatable cylinders mounted on parallel axes, a frame mounted foroscillation coaxial with each cylinder, a plurality of rolls mounted inone frame for rolling coaction with the lower portions of one cylinderand a plurality of rolls mounted in the other frame for rolling coactionwith the upper portions of the other cylinder, means for synchronouslyrotating said cylinders, means for oscillating said frames, means fordelivering material between one cylinder and its coacting rolls andmeans for transferring said material from said cylinder to the othercylinder.

Signed this first day of June, 1909, at 13 Park Row, New York, beforetwo sub scribing witnesses.

WILBUR M. STONE.

lVitnesses A. R. BUFFINGTON, CHAS. lV. LA Run.

Copies of this patent may be obtained. for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

